Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 5877Location: United States of New England

as a tangent to the "where would you like to go thread" where have you been that you absolutely loved?

AND im starting this thread and im not a spammer ;-) (or am i?????)

me:

our most favoritest most wonderful trip ever was our 14 day honeymoon cruise to the Mediterranean. we started in Barcelona where we spent 2.5 extra days (holy crepe what an amazing city) then we went to the south of France (LOVE!), 3 places in Italy, (Pisa/Florence, Rome, Naples), two Greek islands, Athens, Kusadasi Turkey, and i think that's it! it was AMAZING. and as a weird side note. my claim to fame is that it was the same 2005 cruise where a man on his honeymoon was stabbed and killed and thrown overboard, anyone remember that news story? that was also my honeymoon. South of France and Barcelona were amazing. i would go back in a heartbeat. Florence and Pisa we did in the same day. i studied art throughout school and absolutely LOVED Florence (although the gypsies scared me as i felt really bad for them and they were very persistant), Rome was great though very tiring as we walked the entire city in one day.Naples was sketch city, people were selling obviously stolen items on blankets on the streets everywhere. i never felt safe there but we went to Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius which was so cool.we went to Mykonos and Santorini which are Greek Islands. amazingly AMAZINGLY beautiful scenery but not sure what there was to *DO* there. Turkey was an experience. im super glad we went to experience it but i was very uncomfortable in the bizarr area where merchants come out and physically drag you into their shop and then yell at you to buy stuff. Athens, we didnt like. we went to the Acropolis and after seeing places like Ephesus and Rome and such we thought the Acropolis was super disappointing and it was also 800000 degrees in the city that day (not the Acropolis' fault)

other trips:

i love Portland, OR and want to move there. my only regret from our trip was we didnt have enough time to go to the coast.i love Yellowstone Natl Park when we went earlier this year.i loved Paris when i spent 2 weeks there as a student a million years ago and would love to go back as an adult.and even though it's not terribly far from where i live now i LOVE Maine.

This is tough because I loved loved loved Greece so much. The people were so friendly, there was a lot of historical things to see and was just an amazing place. Crete was my favorite place to visit within Greece. I also wasn't that impressed with Athens but I loved Santorini and Mykonos as well.

China was probably the first big trip I took with my husband (we weren't married yet). It was great because we went with some people that knew the language and when we separated from them to visit Beijing, we had a private tour guide. The private tour guide was incredibly cheap to book since we booked in country. (like $400/person for flights, hotel, private tour guide and driver and all meals for 5 days). I think I wouldn't have enjoyed China as much if I hadn't been with people who spoke the language and took me to places that westerners don't normally go and we ate dinner at people's houses. The hospitality was amazing as well as the people are just so friendly overall.

_________________You are all a disgrace to vegans. Go f*ck yourselves, especially linanil.

Last edited by linanil on Wed Dec 05, 2012 1:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The Philippines. I studied abroad there for 14 months and it was so incredible. Such a beautiful country and amazing scuba diving. People are so so nice and there is so much to see. Food was not the most vegan friendly though!

I lived in Mallorca Spain for a few months. Well, I went there when I was 20 to visit a friend, ended up getting a sort-of job and extending my vacation. I figure when you start working, it ceases to become a vacation and becomes a residence!

This was my first experience outside of the US, and besides the fact that it is BEAUTIFUL (god, those beaches!) I just love the whole European attitude, especially Spain. Naptime everyday? Yes please! People were very cool, it was all so laid back. I got to participate in the 'battle' some of the villages have, you know the ones where they throw tomatoes and junk at each other in the streets. Got to meet the Prince at a nightclub. Burned my boobies on the topless beaches. Some of the best memories of my entire life were from that trip.

I also have very fond memories of hiking and camping here in the western US: Yosemite, Zion, Joshua Tree, Death Valley (don't let the name fool you, that place is amazeballs)

New Zealand is amazing. Amsterdam was such a cool city. I love London & Paris. Lucerne and the top of Mt. Pilates is so bitchin. The Mexican Rivera is really great, especially Puerto Vallarta. Get away from the touristy areas and get into the jungles. And of course, NYC is up there as one of the best cities in the world!

parco dei mostri, in bomarzo, italy. it's a collection of sculptures of mythological characters and animals built in the 16th century, i think for some italian royal's child bride. at some point in the 19th century the grounds became overgrown, and the park was essentially forgotten in the woods. now it's tended, but not overly so, and the experience of wandering through it is still a lot like finding the ruins of a lost city in the middle of a forest. we went on a hazy, cool, not-quite-rainy day in late november, and there were only a couple of other people there. we were able to climb right up on stuff and wander around in the old leaning towers and everything. i didn't want to leave. some pictures:

i can't find a picture of them, but there were sculptures near the entrance that looked like the winged sphinxy things with the laser eyes that atreyu had to pass through in the neverending story (on a much smaller scale). i ran past them shouting "be confident!" while my friends wandered off and pretended not to know me.

_________________"rise from the ashes of douchebaggery like a fancy vegan phoenix" - amandabear"I'm pretty sure the moral of this story is: fork pants." - cq

My partner and I both love England better than any place in the world; we spend part of every summer there, and would love to be able to relocate at some point. My family is in Warwickshire, but we could also be very happy in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, or gorgeous, beautiful Shropshire; maybe some day!

NW coast of Scotland - gorgeous, just gorgeous. Mountains THAT drop into the sea, white sandy beaches in hidden coves, and really spectacular wildlife. Second vote for England too - the Lake District is gorgeous, especially if you can go in the off-season.

Cambodia is my all-round favourite country I've been to. It's beautiful and fascinating and all the different layers of history there really got a hold of me. It's a place that's been through a lot! Also Cambodian food is my favourite in the entire world, which is important.

I spent a few months volunteering with street kids in the Philippines, so it kind of became a second home there and I miss it a lot sometimes. I also loved Sri Lanka (so diverse for such a small place, and we were lucky to be able to visit soon after the war ended and tourism still wasn't huge- apparently it's more expensive already, these days), and Granada in Spain was the definite highlight of our Europe trip last December/January (such a fun, laid back little town, and we had the best time ever exploring on Segways- which are fun enough to make up for the shame of being seen on a Segway).

_________________"...anarchists only want to burn cars and punch cops."- nickvicious"We'll be eating our own words 30 years from now when we're demanding our legislators outlaw aerosol-based cyber dildo-wielding death holograms."- Brian

I love the water so Greek Islands, Croatia, Mexico and Costa Rica were all favorites.

Then I went to Hawaii and now it is the tops for sure. I really want to explore the other islands but so far I loved Maui the most, the people, the music, the culture, the animals, the flowers, the trees, the smell, the food, the cocktails, it's all wonderful!

I also love the giant trees of the Pacific NW, Northern California, the Oregon Coast, Mt. Rainier, the Hoh rain forest, it's all so magical.

My favorite cities are Austin, Portland, and Chicago but that's probably influenced partially by the people I love the most living there and they are all so easy (for me) to get around.

I loved Australia and wish I had had more time to spend there. Seven weeks is not nearly enough and I was only able to explore the Southeast corner (and a bit of the interior). I would love to go back to explore the rest.

The same goes for Ireland (although in the case of Ireland it was only two weeks and it was mainly the Northwest corner that I explored).

Lesvos is beautiful and there is some amazing birdwatching there.

Brittany is stunning.

The Olympic Peninsula is one of my favorite places in the world, and the hikes that I've done in the Hoh rainforest and the nights I spent camping at Cape Alava were some of the most magical times I remember in my life.

As for cities, I adore Melbourne, Brisbane, London, Amsterdam (which is kind of cheating because I live here, but I do adore it!), and Seattle (where I used to live).

Toronto is one of my favorite cities in the whole world and feels like a second home to me, because I've spent sooooooooooo much time there and try to get there at least once a year to visit my dad (who lives there part time).

_________________Ain't no guarantees in life, and nothing that comes out of my vagina can change that. - Erika Soyf*cker

Granada in Spain was the definite highlight of our Europe trip last December/January (such a fun, laid back little town, and we had the best time ever exploring on Segways- which are fun enough to make up for the shame of being seen on a Segway).

I adore France, especially Brittany. We went to the forest in Huelgoat and it remains one of the most magical places I've ever been. The story that goes along with it is that it's where Merlin is buried and it has a fantastic fairy tale feel with boulders and moss everywhere. The coast is also breathtaking and makes me feel like I'm in an 18th century novel.

In the US I love Louisiana and would like to go back. The badlands of South Dakota are great (I love wide open spaces) and anywhere in the rockies.

Jamaica when I was little. There were these dudes (maybe cousins, it was a while ago) who got me coconuts from the tree and they would split them in two and give me a half. It blew my mind that not only could you drink it, you could also eat the jelly! I don't remember much but it was beautiful and everyone was nice and coconuts.

Disney World! I know that's not that far but that place changed my life. Sort of. So much fun.

I went to Tibet in college with my Buddhist studies department and we spent time both in Lhasa and traveling around through the rural areas. It was so, so incredible -- the country is stunningly beautiful and I was so overwhelmed by the kindness of the Tibetan people even though they have been through so much tragedy. I would love to go back someday.